2024-12-23

gsn24 news

Angola coach Marcos Antunes vows to stop favorites Morocco

The head coach of Angola Marcos Antunes says his charges will work towards stopping high flying Morocco when the two sides face each other in Group A of the TotalEnergies CAF Futsal Africa Cup of Nations on Thursday, 11 April in Rabat.

The Portuguese coach was speaking from the Salle Prince Moulay Abdellah a day ahead of the big opening to the competition.

Angola finished third four years ago to reach their maiden FIFA Futsal World Cup in Lithuania.

“We will fight with competence to stop the quality of Morocco and try to show our quality, that is the way we work. Morocco is one of the top ranked teams in the world. If we want to develop we have to play against the best teams and we’re ready to play against Morocco” said Antunes.

“We have been working with the new methods and ways of playing Futsal and now we’re trying to implement it on the field so that we can secure one of the World Cup spots.”

The coach stressed the need to integrate the young players who are eager to show their talent at the continent’s flagship Futsal competition.

“We have young players who are eager to show their qualities and we want to have an identity of play. Our expectation is to secure a place in the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Uzbekistan later this year and we will work and fight for that. We are part of the Futsal story because we have been to the 2020 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Lithuania and we showed a good image and now we will work towards confirming that image here”, concluded the coach.

TotalEnergies CAF Futsal AFCON: Morocco coach Dguig welcomes ‘positive’ pressure in title defence

Morocco coach Hicham Dguig says his team will be under positive pressure when they face Angola in Group A of the TotalEnergies CAF Futsal Africa Cup of Nations in Rabat.

The World Cup quarter-finalists will be playing behind an expectant home faithful when they open their account against Angola at the Salle Prince Moulay Abdellah on Thursady, 11 April, 2024 at 20:00 GMT.  

Morocco have won the last two editions of the highly technical fast-paced indoor football competition.

“It’s a positive problem and a challenge which we have to face but when the matches are played here it helps us to improve,” Dguig said at his pre-match press conference.

“Angola is a strong team and the public have to know that, and they play without any pressure and they have a coach from Portugal who are one of the best, but we hope our strategies will help us win the match.”

The two-time African champions have enjoyed massive progress under the tutelage of experienced coach Hicham Dguig, they’re currently ranked eighth on the World Rankings.

“The preparations are going on very well and the objective is very well to defend our title and qualify for the World Cup for the fourth time in a row,” Dguig said.

“The pressure is very real and when we get into the competition we have only one objective which is to be in the top spot.

“We have a lot of players who are talented from the clubs in the championship but we need players with experience who have the habit of playing together. That’s why I selected these players” concluded the coach.

The Atlas Lions will be hoping the support from their home fans will be enough to secure them a record equaling third TotalEnergies CAF Futsal Africa Cup of Nations titles.

Paris 2024: Nigeria and Zambia to represent Africa at Olympic Games

Nigeria and Zambia have booked their slots at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games to be staged in France later this year.

The Super Falcons won 1-0 on aggregate against South Africa to secure their ticket for the competition. Nigeria recorded a 1-0 win in Abuja last week before holding out for a 0-0 draw in Pretoria.

Nigeria will compete in their fifth Olympics women’s football tournament and return to the stage after failing to qualify in 2012, 2016 and 2020.

The Super Falcons will compete in Group C at the Olympics against world champions Spain, as well as past world champions Japan and Brazil. On July 25, they will meet the South Americans in Bordeaux for the tournament opener.

Zambia, on the other hand, overturned a first-leg deficit to book a place ahead of Morocco.

The Copper Queens lost 2-1 at home against the Atlas Lionesses last weekend.

However, they sealed a 2-0 win in the second leg to achieve a 3-2 aggregate score.

Orlando Pride striker Barbra Banda scored the opener for Zambia in the 38th minute and sealed her Olympic qualification with a penalty in the 105th minute.

Zambia will compete in a challenging Group B in France, with past champions the United States and Germany, as well as World Cup semi-finalists Australia. They will launch their campaign against the USWNT on July 25 in Nice.

All Regional Games is here to stay – CEO Tiana Addae

The Chief Executive Officer of the All Regional Games, Tiana Addae, says there is a long-term plan to ensure the competition goes beyond this year.

The first edition of the initiative is set to place in November 2024 as revealed during the press launch on Tuesday, April.

The idea of the Games is to help in the identification and development of young talents from all parts of the country.

Concerns were raised about the sustainability of the competition if the maiden edition becomes a success. However, Addae has revealed the competition is here to stay.

“[All Regional Games] is a long-term plan that we will be doing,” said the CEO.

“It’s not just for this year. It is continuous.”

The much-anticipated competition will feature athletes competing in nine sports disciplines; football, athletics, volleyball, basketball, tennis, table tennis, boxing, eSports, and arm-wrestling.

Addae also emphasised they are open to working with other professionals who are willing available themselves to ensure the success of the Games.

“We are open to other athletes [at the] regional. Old athletes, current athletes or anyone that is in a discipline that has been professional and wants to join us, we are more than happy to bring them on board.”

The regional activities will be held between June 9 and 30 with the national festival expected to be staged in November.

GPL 2023/24: Hearts of Oak suffer third consecutive loss in defeat to Medeama

Medeama Sporting Club handed Hearts of Oak their third defeat in the last three games in the Ghana Premier League.

The game, which was played at the Akoon Park on Wednesday afternoon, saw the Tarkwa-based side record a 2-0 win on matchday 25 of the league.

Kobina Amoah opened the scoring for the Yellow and Mauve side after 65 minutes as he blasted his free-kick into the net to give his side the lead.

Godfred Abban doubled the lead for Medeama with nine minutes away from full time with the midfielder sending his low strike past the Hearts goalkeeper.

The Accra-based side were second favourites in the entire period of the game and failed to recover from the two goals conceded.

The defeat now means the Phobians have lost the last three games they have played in the league after no defeat in the previous eight.

Abubakar Ouattara’s men now drop to 11th on the league table after 25 games played and face Karela United in their next game.

In other results, Samartex earned a point with their 1-1 draw with Legon Cities.

Here are the full results from matchday 25:

Medeama SC 2-0 Hearts of Oak

Bibiani Goldstars 3-2 Karela Utd

Berekum Chelsea 3-2 Dreams FC

Heart of Lions 2-0 Accra Lions

Bofoakwa Tano 1-0 Aduana Stars

Real Tamale United 1-0 Nations FC

Legon Cities 1-1 Samartex

Great Olympics 1-1 Bechem United

Ghana in talks to host 2026 Commonwealth Games – Sports Minister

Ghana’s Sports Ministry has held talks with the governing body of the Commonwealth Games, the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), over the possibility of hosting the 2026 Games.

According to Sports Minister Mustapha Ussif who spoke to GHOne TV, the preliminary discussions had been positive.

”In fact the president of Commonwealth Games was in Ghana. He has visited our facilities and held a meeting with my good self. I had the opportunity of even attending some of their meetings,”

”And their programs, they want African nation. They said it is time for Africa to host the Commonwealth Games, and Ghana, we have the facilities now.” he said.

The 2026 Games is currently without a host city after Malaysia rejected the CGF’s offer, which included £100 million ($126 million) in supporting funds.

In an official statement, Malaysia said its decision was due to time constraints, costs and an insufficient offer of funding.

The CGF had asked Malaysia to step in after the Australian state of Victoria withdrew, citing ballooning costs.

While Malaysia and the Australian City of Victoria consider the Games to be too expensive, Mustapha Ussif has said it will not cost a fortune to do it.

”It is not going to cost us as much as it cost us to organise the African Games if we decide as a country to go for Commonwealth Games,”

”The beauty of the Commonwealth Games is that they will even give you funding that will come from Commonwealth Games Secretariat, unlike the African Games.”

Countries are not lining up to host the Games due to the cost involved and legacy issues.

The cost involved is what drove away the Australian City of Victoria. In their case, the Games was going to cost an estimated $4.8 billion to host it.

Victoria Premier Dan Andrews said “Frankly A$6-A$7 billion for a 12-day sporting event, we’re not doing that.”

By his own admission, Victoria made the decision even before working out the cost of breaking its contract with the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF).

As it turns out, Dan Andrews would later confirm that the Victoria State had agreed to pay $243 million to Commonwealth Games organizers.

In 2019, the CGF revealed that the Birmingham 2022 games would cost an estimated £778million. The UK government agreed to a 75-25 cost-sharing formula with the Birmingham City Council.

A year after hosting the Games, the Birmingham City Council effectively declared bankruptcy to meet equal pay claims. In a statement, the Labour council of the largest local authority in Europe said the notice was a “necessary step as we seek to get our city back on a sound financial footing”.

It is not clear how much it will cost Ghana to host the Games and where the funding will come from.

Ghana recently spent over $289 million on facilities, operational cost and associated expenses to host the 2023 African Games.

2024 Ramadan Cup: Ninth edition launched with 30 communities to battle for ultimate

The 2024 Sheikh Sharubutu Ramadan Cup has been officially been launched at the Accra Sports Stadium media centre with 30 Zongo communities set to participate in the competition.

Minister for Sports, Hon. Mustapha Ussif, The Chairman of the Ghana Hajj Board and representative of Vice-President, Ben Abdallah Banda, football administrator Awalu Angulu Mahama were among those who graced the occasion.

Ussif eulogised the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, thanked the organizers of the competition and urged the organizers to set an age limit to encourage the participation of promising talents.

The event’s founder, Tamimu Issah, also expressed excitement about the upcoming competition which is to ensure unity and bring togetherness in the Zongo Community.

He also urged the teams to select youngsters who have the prospect of excelling as professional footballers in the sport.

The competition has new entrants including Teshie Zongo, Akweteyman and Tuba.

The two-day championship is slated for April 20th at the Fadama Astroturf.

Mamobi are the current holders of the title after defeating Darkuman last year.

Kudus can win CAF Player of The Year – Kanoute

Former West Ham star Frederic Kanoute has said Mohammed Kudus has the potential to win the African footballer of the year award.

Kudus has won many admirers in his debut season for West Ham, scoring 13 goals in 30 appearances in all competitions. In his debut appearances at the African Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast, Kudus scored twice in a 2-2 draw with Egypt.

These performances have won him many admirers, including the 2007 CAF Player of the Year, Kanoute.

‘‘He is really, really talented. He has everything, he has strength, running forwards, he can play different positions. Still quite young and I think he is one of the most exciting African players around these days. So yes, he definitely has a chance for me,’’ Kanoute said on the Irons Podcast.

Frederic Kanoute scored 27 goals in 76 appearances for West Ham United from 2000 to 2003.

At international level, Kanoute scored 23 goals in 38 appearances for Mali from 2004 to 2010.

LA Galaxy condemns racial abuse of Joseph paintsil

LA Galaxy winger Joseph Paintsil was the subject of racial abuse by a fan after the team’s 2-1 loss to Los Angeles FC in the Major League Soccer.

Paintsil was singled out for blame by disappointed fans despite his best efforts to prevent the defeat.

The derogatory message was first posted on the Black Stars winger’s official Instagram page, shortly after the match.

Moments after the post was shared, fans of both LA FC and LA Galaxy joined forces to condemn the despicable conduct.

LA Galaxy have since released a statement of solidarity with Paintsil while condemning the racist behaviour.

“LA Galaxy forward Joseph Paintsil was the victim of a racist social media incident following Saturday’s match against LAFC.

“The club stands with Joseph and anyone who has faced racial abuse through social platforms or anywhere else. The incident was immediately reported to Major League Soccer.

“We are also working with MLS to ensure Joseph has all the resources and support he needs at this time. There is no place for racism in our community, in our league or anywhere else in society,” the statement read.

Paintsil joined LA Galaxy on February 21, 2024, is yet to publuicly comment on the matter.

Since joining the Western Conference side, Paintsil has scored two twice with two assists in seven MLS appearances.

Ghana’s Maxwell Woledzi stars for Fredrikstad in first league win against Brann

Ghanaian defender Maxwell Woledzi impressed on his second appearance in the Norwegian top flight as his side picked up all three points.

The 22-year-old played all minutes available for Fredrikstad FK who defeated Brann to pick up their first win of the 2024 Eliteserien season.

A goal in each by Stian Stray Molde was enough to hand the newly promoted side an away win over the weekend.

For Woledzi, it was a performance to cheer about following defeat to Bodo Glimit in their opening game of the campaign.

The centre-back, playing as part of a back three, made seven clearances with five interceptions to his game as well as his side claimed a clean sheet.

Woledzi won four tackles, the most by any of the players who started the game for Fredrikstad. He also completed the most dribbles in the game.

The Ghanaian joined the club last season and helped them to secure promotion to the top flight.

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